I'm just trying to figure out how. What is it about some proteins, the interactions thereof, and the development of the organism that results in a specific behavior (for example, cutting long strips of material, sticking them into the feather on the back, and then building a complex cup nest).

Don't get hung up on the 'complex' part. Simple rules/networks can create complex behaviors/objects.

Read these. Good follow-up on research. We'll see how it plays out over the next five years or so, but it's fascinating researching either way.

I'm just waiting to see what the ol' IDers make of this.

It should show the IDiots that science is self correcting (and this time it was pretty fast) but I doubt that they will see it that way. One way or another the IDiots will likely twist the whole thing into some sort of condemnation of science and into some sort of support for ID.

I find it interesting, and somewhat surprising, that Wolfe-Simon is standing by her original claims. She's quoted as saying "There is nothing in the data of these new papers that contradicts our published data, which is also consistent with our current results." but the writers of the new papers apparently don't agree with that. I think she would be wise to get together with the writers of the new papers and pay attention to what they found, rather than be stubborn in the face of evidence that contradicts her claims.

--------------Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. - Jesus in Matthew 10:34

But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me. -Jesus in Luke 19:27

Reconstruction of the thermodynamic inversion. The biological evolution proceeds in the thermody-namic direction opposite to the evolution of non-biological natural systems: free energy and informationaccumulate in biological systems, while entropy exports outside. How might the inversion of thermody-namic trend occur during the prebiotic microsystems transition into primary living units? The author'sreconstruction of this process is represented in Fig. 1. The picture shows the inversion of balance `freeenergy contribution/entropy contribution'. The oscillating prebiotic microsystem is characterized by anexchange of energy and matter with the outside world; a tendency to dichotomy; continuous reactionsresulted in free energy accumulation and preservation (Fig. 1 A). Changes in the outside world stress themicrosystem, provoking a release of preserved free energy. As a result, the total of internal and externalenergy contributions prevails over dissipation (Fig. 1 B). The resulted direction of free energy ow reverses from the external to internal one (Fig. 1C). In this way, the microsystem undergoes thermodynamicinversion, importing free energy and exporting entropy (Fig. 1D).

“We now know that these gestures must have been in the repertoire of our common ancestor and might have been the starting point for language evolution. Manual gesture in chimpanzees is controlled by the same brain structures as speech in the human brain.”

Dr Roberts discovered that chimpanzees not only communicate using manual gestures, but they are able to work out what the signaller means from both gesture and accompanying context.

“Chimpanzees not only use similar manual gestures to humans,” says Dr Roberts, “but the way they use these gestures is also very similar to the way humans gesture and use language. The defining way that people understand communication with others is by figuring out what someone really means by ‘mind-reading’ their intentions and we have discovered that chimpanzees may have a similar ability.

An interesting press release marred by two things. First, it doesn't mention if, or where, a paper is forthcoming on this. Second:

Quote

Dr Roberts said: “Chimpanzees use these gestures intentionally to elicit a desired response from other chimpanzees and they may be the missing link between ape and human communication”.

(bolding mine). Leaving aside the use of "missing link", since chimps are apes the statement makes no sense...

--------------Church burning ebola boy

FTK: I Didn't answer your questions because it beats the hell out of me.

PaV: I suppose for me to be pried away from what I do to focus long and hard on that particular problem would take, quite honestly, hundreds of thousands of dollars to begin to pique my interest.

“We now know that these gestures must have been in the repertoire of our common ancestor and might have been the starting point for language evolution. Manual gesture in chimpanzees is controlled by the same brain structures as speech in the human brain.”

Dr Roberts discovered that chimpanzees not only communicate using manual gestures, but they are able to work out what the signaller means from both gesture and accompanying context.

“Chimpanzees not only use similar manual gestures to humans,” says Dr Roberts, “but the way they use these gestures is also very similar to the way humans gesture and use language. The defining way that people understand communication with others is by figuring out what someone really means by ‘mind-reading’ their intentions and we have discovered that chimpanzees may have a similar ability.

An interesting press release marred by two things. First, it doesn't mention if, or where, a paper is forthcoming on this. Second:

Quote

Dr Roberts said: “Chimpanzees use these gestures intentionally to elicit a desired response from other chimpanzees and they may be the missing link between ape and human communication”.

(bolding mine). Leaving aside the use of "missing link", since chimps are apes the statement makes no sense...

--------------"But it's disturbing to think someone actually thinks creationism -- having put it's hand on the hot stove every day for the last 400 years -- will get a different result tomorrow." -- midwifetoad

Picked up off Poorly Dressed, the "Micro'be" line of clothing, produced by fermenting bacteria. Maybe you'll be able to grow your own clothing one day.

Now I have images of clothing produced by moonshiners (I know, different processes, but monks aren't as funny as rednecks).

That's pretty amazing.

Fruit leather.

(I just realized the possible interpretations of that phrase. Paging Gordon...)

--------------"But it's disturbing to think someone actually thinks creationism -- having put it's hand on the hot stove every day for the last 400 years -- will get a different result tomorrow." -- midwifetoad

Picked up off Poorly Dressed, the "Micro'be" line of clothing, produced by fermenting bacteria. Maybe you'll be able to grow your own clothing one day.

Now I have images of clothing produced by moonshiners (I know, different processes, but monks aren't as funny as rednecks).

That's pretty amazing.

Fruit leather.

(I just realized the possible interpretations of that phrase. Paging Gordon...)

:D

On a lighter note, your comment made me realize that they do look a bit like fruit roll-ups (or whatever other names those things go by). A little rougher, sure, but...With a bit of tweaking, we may find a whole new way of making edible clothes. And that brings us back to...

Paging Gordon....

--------------"Just think if every species had a different genetic code We would have to eat other humans to survive.." : Joe G

Although animals display a rich variety of shapes and patterns, the genetic changes that explain how complex forms arise are still unclear. Here we take advantage of the extensive diversity of Heliconius butterflies to identify a gene that causes adaptive variation of black wing patterns within and between species. Linkage mapping in two species groups, gene-expression analysis in seven species, and pharmacological treatments all indicate that cis-regulatory evolution of the WntA ligand underpins discrete changes in color pattern features across the Heliconius genus. These results illustrate how the direct modulation of morphogen sources can generate a wide array of unique morphologies, thus providing a link between natural genetic variation, pattern formation, and adaptation.

Quote

This first discovery of a Wnt-pathway gene driving variation in natural populations complements developmental evolution studies [e.g., the previous reports of wing color patterning by wingless (30, 31)] with one important difference: we show that genetic changes at a Wnt locus itself are responsible for pattern variation. WntA is deployed early during wing development and may determine pattern boundaries and identities rather than acting directly as a melanic activator, as suggested by its complementarity with pattern-specific optix expression at later stages (Fig. 2B). As such, linking a patterning molecule to the evolution of a protean, highly variable trait fills an empirical gap between the genetics of adaptive change (6, 43) and the developmental pathways that generate complex phenotypic diversity (3, 4). Because of its repeated association with mimetic phenotypes in two independent color pattern radiations, cis-regulatory changes of WntA expression also appear to represent a path of least resistance in evolution of novel wing patterns. Spatial shifts of morphogen sources may thus be a key mechanism for generating phenotypic novelty through quantum leaps across the landscape of possible morphologies.

--------------You're obviously illiterate as hell. Peach, bro.-FtK

Finding something hard to believe based on the evidence, is science.-JoeG

The warmest global climates of the past 65 million years occurred during the early Eocene epoch (about 55 to 48 million years ago), when the Equator-to-pole temperature gradients were much smaller than today1, 2 and atmospheric carbon dioxide levels were in excess of one thousand parts per million by volume3, 4. Recently the early Eocene has received considerable interest because it may provide insight into the response of Earth’s climate and biosphere to the high atmospheric carbon dioxide levels that are expected in the near future5 as a consequence of unabated anthropogenic carbon emissions4, 6. Climatic conditions of the early Eocene ‘greenhouse world’, however, are poorly constrained in critical regions, particularly Antarctica. Here we present a well-dated record of early Eocene climate on Antarctica from an ocean sediment core recovered off the Wilkes Land coast of East Antarctica. The information from biotic climate proxies (pollen and spores) and independent organic geochemical climate proxies (indices based on branched tetraether lipids) yields quantitative, seasonal temperature reconstructions for the early Eocene greenhouse world on Antarctica. We show that the climate in lowland settings along the Wilkes Land coast (at a palaeolatitude of about 70° south) supported the growth of highly diverse, near-tropical forests characterized by mesothermal to megathermal floral elements including palms and Bombacoideae. Notably, winters were extremely mild (warmer than 10?°C) and essentially frost-free despite polar darkness, which provides a critical new constraint for the validation of climate models and for understanding the response of high-latitude terrestrial ecosystems to increased carbon dioxide forcing.

--------------You're obviously illiterate as hell. Peach, bro.-FtK

Finding something hard to believe based on the evidence, is science.-JoeG

These pages point out that two important pathways for ocean currents closed during the Miocene as the Panama isthmus formed, and the collision of Africa and Eurasia closed the connection of the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean. This led to more latitudinal mixing and a more even temperature distribution from equator to pole.